Tray



F. S. LACK March 27, 1934.

TRAY

Filed July so. 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet a (Ittorneg Patented Mar. 27, 1934'UNITED STATES TRAY Fred S. Lack, Paducah, Ky., assignor, by mesneassignments, to Tray Service. Company, Dallas, Tex., a corporation ofTexas Application July 30, 1932, Serial No. 626,590

12 Claims.

This invention relates .to service trays such as are used for servingsoft drinks and the like to occupants of automobiles and, among other objects, aims to provide an improved brace attachment adjustably securedto a tray so as to support one side thereof while the other side restson top of a car door or window ledge. The invention provides arelatively simple and novel brace for service trays having a pivotallymounted brace arm adapted to be quickly and easily folded under the trayto serve as a support when the tray is placed on a table or counter.

This application is a continuation in part of my co-pending applicationsSerial No. 605,054,

filed April 13, 1932, allowed June 22, 1932, now abandoned, and Ser. No.555,795 filed Aug. 7, 1931, allowed Nov. 2, 1932.

In the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment of theinvention:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a tray showing the improved bracesupporting it on an automobile door;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line .33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan View of the tray showing the brace in foldedposition; and

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the tray in its upright position alsoshowing the brace in folded position.

Referring particularly to the drawings, the illustrated brace attachmentis shown as being slidably mounted on a rectangular tray'lO of thereinforced, rolled rim type. In order to provide a slide for the braceand also to provide means to hook over a door, a bar 11 is secured tothe bottom of the tray near one end. This bar, which conveniently may bemade of flat metal stock,

extends transversely across the tray and is spaced from the bottomthereof. One. end of the bar is bent upwardly and rigidly secured to oneside wall of the tray and, adjacent the other side of the tray, the baris ofiset upwardly and secured to a flat bracket piece 12. The bracket12 is bent to conform to the side and bottom of the tray and is securedthereto by an ordinary rivet. The end of the bar adjacent the bracket 12extends outwardly beyond the bottom of the tray and is bent downwardlyat an acute angle to the vertical to form one door-engaging arm or lug13, as shown in said copending applications. Another lug or arm 14 isbent outwardly and downwardly from a short bar 11 which is secured to abracket piece 12 similar to bracket 12 near the other end of the trayand on the same side as the lug 13. These arms or lugs are adapted to beinserted in a window channel between the glass and one side of the doorof a closed automobile to support the tray in level position. The lugs13 and 14-, together with the adjacent portions of the bars 11 and 11are also adapted to eigage the inside and top surfaces of a door 15 ofan automobile, so that the tray may be supported horizontally by meansof a brace about to be described. The upper portion of the lugs and theadjacent portions of the bars 11 and 11 are preferably enclosed inrubber sleeves as shown so as to prevent scratching the surface of thedoor. Instead of the above construction, the bar 11 may be made like bar11, that is, it may be extended entirely across the tray, if desired.

Herein, the brace attachment is shown as including a relatively shortcross bar 16 preferably made of strap metal, which is adjustably mountedon the bar 11 and extends a short distance toward the transverse axis ofthe tray to form a support for a brace to be later described. The bar 16is slidably secured to the bar 11 by means of a sheet metal clip 17,having flanges 18 secured by machine screws 19 to the cross bar 16. Theclip is U-shaped and is conveniently the same width as the cross bar.The opposite side legs of the clip 17 are adapted to grip the side edgesof the bar 11 in a manner to be later described.

A brace 20 having a rubber cushion 21 to engage the outside of a door isshown as being pivotally and frictionally secured to the extendedportion of the cross bar 16 by means of a U- shaped strap metal clip 22.The clip may be spot-welded or riveted to the cross bar and a pin 23 issecured to its flanges providing a pivot or shaft for the brace 20. Thepin extends transversely of the tray so that the brace swings in aperpendicular plane longitudinally of the tray.

Herein, the brace 20 is shown as being bifurcated at its pivoted ends,being conveniently made of two strap metal arms, the main arm 24 havingits pivoted end adjacent to one flange of the clip 22 and projecting atright angles to the axis of the pin. The other arm 25 has its pivotedend adjacent to the other flange of the clip 22 and extends at an anglefrom the axis of the pin to a point near the free end of the main arm towhich it is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to serve as a brace forthe main arm. An expansile coiled spring 26 is arranged on the pinbetween the arms 24 and 25 to force them tightly against the flanges ofthe clip 22 to hold the brace in adjusted position. The free end of thearm 24 is bent U-shaped as indicated at 27 to space the rubber cushionfrom the arm, 24. Thus when the tray is in place on a door the arm 24 isspaced from the door more stably to support the tray.

In order that the arm 2 1 may be utilized to support the tray when it isplaced on table or counter and to provide as long an arm as possible,the clip 22 is located adjacent to bar 11, and when in folded positionand the bar 16 moved to a point r mote from the lugs 13 and 14, the arm24 may rest on a table or counter indicated at 28, 5, while the lugsoverhang the edge 29 of the table.

As will be noted in Fig. 5, the tray, when placed on a table top, is ata slight angle thereto. To prevent the extreme bent end of the arm 24from damaging the table top, and also to space the lower edges oi saidarm parallel to the bottom of the tray when the arm is folded, the endofarm 2.4 is bent toward the tray bottom, as shown in Figs 2 and 5, sothat it contacts with the bottom of the tray. It will be noted that thecomparatively long arm 24:, when folded, is substantially parallel tothe tray bottom (see dotted position in Fig. 2) and provides asubstantial support for the rear of the tray, while the bars 11 and 11support the front of the tray at spaced points.

As it is desirable for the rubber cushion to engage the doorsubstantially midway between the lugs 13 and 14, the pivoted ends of thearms 24 i and 25 are cut off at an angle, as shown in Fig.

3, so as to provide stop shoulders 30 adapted to abut against the bar 16to limit the downward swinging movement of the brace when the cushion 21is substantially midway between the lugs 13 and 14.

When the brace is swung downwardly and the cushion engaged with a door,as shown in Fig. 1, it exerts pressure on the cross bar 16, tending toslide it outwardly from the door and also to turn it into an acuteangular position relative to the longitudinal axis of the tray so thatthe clip 17 frictionally grips the opposite edges of the bar 11 betweenits legs and prevents the cross bar from sliding on the bar 11.

To move the cross bar 16 on the bar 11 so that it may be adjusted todoors of various thicknesses or to move it into position to support thetray on a table, the operator grasps the clip 22 and moves it in thedesired direction. If the brace is grasped near the free end or even inthe middle,

I the cross bar will turn and the clip 1'7 will lock it to the bar 11.

Obviously, the present invention is not re stricted to the particularembodiment thereof herein shown and described.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a curb service tray, a bar secured to andsubstantially parallel with the bottom of the tray; said bar extendingtransversely of the tray; a door-engaging lug bent downwardly from thebar at one side of the tray; acomplementary lug secured to the tray onthe same side as the first-mentioned lug; a cross bar slidably mountedon the transverse bar; a U- shaped clip rigidly secured to the cross barnear the transverse bar; a brace member pivotally mounted on the clipand adapted to be folded beneath the tray and to swing downwardly in avertical plane longitudinally of the tray; a cushion member on the freeend of the brace; and stop means on the brace to limit its downwardmovement when the cushion member is midway between the lugs.

2. In combination with a curb service tray; a bar secured to andsubstantially parallel with the bottom of the tray; said bar extendingtransversely of the tray near one end thereof; a doorengaging lug bentdownwardly from the bar at one side of the tray; a complementary lugsecured to the tray on the same side as the first-mentioned lug and nearthe other end of the tray; a cross bar slidably mounted on thetransverse bar; a U-shaped clip rigidly secured to the cross bar nearthe transverse bar; a pivot pin secured to the flanges of the clip; abrace arm journaled on the pin adjacent one flange of the clip andextending at right angles from the axis of the pin; said arm having aU-shaped bent free end; a bumper member on said free end; a second armjournaled at one end on the pin adjacent to the other flange of the clipand extending at an angle from the pin axis, the other end of the secondarm being secured to the first arm adjacent to the bent end thereof; anda compression spring on the pin between the arms to hold frictionallyagainst the clip flanges.

3. In combination with a curb service tray; a flat bar secured to thebottom of the tray and extending transversely thereof; said bar beingspaced from the bottom of the tray to provide v a slide; door-engagingmembers extending outwardly and downwardly from the tray at one side ofthe tray; a cross bar slidably mounted on the slide; a U-shaped cliprigidly secured to the cross bar adjacent to the slide; a brace memberpivotally mounted on the clip and adapted to be folded beneath the tray,the lower edge of said brace, when folded, being parallel to the traybottom so that the brace may support the side of the tray remote fromthe door-engaging members on a table top, the other side of the traybeing supported by the outwardly extending portions of the door-engagingmembers, said door-engaging members being adapted to overhang the edgeof the table top.

4. In combination with a curb service tray, a fiat bar secured to thebottom of the tray and extending transversely thereof; said bar beingspaced from the bottom of the tray to provide a slide; door engagingmembers extending downwardly from the tray at one side of the tray; across bar slidably mounted on the slide; means automatically to hold thecross bar in adjusted position on the slide; a brace member pivoted atone end on the cross bar; means frictionally to hold the brace inadjusted position; cushion means on the free end of the brace adapted toengage one face of a support when the brace is swung downwardly and whenthe door-engaging members are engaged on top of and on the other face ofthe support; and stop means on the brace to limit the downward swingingmovement thereof.

5. The combination with a curb service tray, of means at one side of thetray for hooking the tray over the lower edge of an automobile window, abrace shiftable on the tray in an extended position thereunder towardand from said hooking means, said brace being foldable to providesupporting surfaces longitudinally of the side of the tray remote fromthe hooking means, and means to hold the supporting portions of thebrace substantially parallel to the tray in a position under the tray toengage a flat surface upon which the tray is rested whereby the bracemay support one side of the tray solidly without rocking on said flatsurface to receive refreshments thereon for service to the occupants ofan automobile.

6. The combination with a curb service tray, of means at one side of thetray for hooking the tray over the lower edge of an automobile window, abrace shiftable on the tray in an extended position transversely on theunder side of the tray toward and from said hooking means, said bracebeing foldable to a retracted position longitudinally of the tray andhaving means holding the brace parallel to the tray in its fully foldedposition, said brace when folded extending below the tray to engage afiat surface on which the tray is rested to support one side of the traysolidly without rocking on a fiat surface to receive refreshmentsthereon for service to the occupants of an automobile.

'7. The combination with a curb service tray, of means at one side ofthe tray for hooking the tray over the lower edge of an automobilewindow, said hooking means extending outwardly and downwardly beyond theedge of the tray so as to be engageable in the window groove in thelower edge of said window between an edge of said groove and the windowpane, a brace shiftable on the tray in an extended position thereundertoward and from said hooking means said brace being foldable when not inuse to a position longitudinally under the tray, and means holding thebrace parallel thereto at such a distance below the tray that the bracemay support one side of the tray solidly without rocking on a flatsurface upon which the tray is rested to receive refreshments thereonfor service to the occupants of an automobile.

8. The combination with a curb service tray, of means at one side of thetray for hooking the tray over the lower edge of an automobile window,said hooking means extending outwardly and downwardly beyond the edge ofthe tray so as to be engageable in the window groove in the lower edgeof said window between an edge of said groove and the window pane, abrace shiftable on the tray in an extended position transversely on theunder side of the tray toward and from said hooking means, said bracebeing foldable to a retracted position longitudinally of the tray, meansholding the brace in substantially parallel position respecting thebottom of the tray to engage a flat surface on which the tray is restedto support one side of the tray solidly and without rocking on a fiatsurface to receive refreshments thereon for service to the occupants ofan automobile.

9. In combination with a curb service tray having a bar presenting astraight portion extending transversely below and substantially parallelto the bottom of the tray, downwardly extending hook members at one sideof the tray toward which said bar extends, a brace attachment comprisinga cross bar slidably and removably mounted on said straight portion ofsaid bar, and a foldable brace arm carried by said cross bar and movablebetween an extended position below the tray and a retracted positionunder the tray permitting the tray to be placed on a fiat surface.

10. In combination with a curb service tray having a bar presenting astraight portion extending transversely below and substantially parallelto the bottom of the tray, downwardly extending hook members at one sideof the tray toward which said bar extends, a brace attachment comprisinga cross bar slidably and removably mounted on said straight portion ofsaid bar, and a foldable brace arm carried by said cross bar and movablebetween an extended position below the tray and a retracted positionunder the tray permitting the tray to be placed on a flat surface andmeans for frictionally holding said brace arm in said extended andretracted positions.

11. A detachable brace attachment for curb service trays of thecharacter described comprising a cross bar having a removable clipadapted to secure the attachment for sliding movement on a parallelsupporting member beneath the tray, a U-shaped clip secured to the crossbar, a pivot pin secured to the flanges of the U- shaped clip, a bracearm pivotally mounted on the pin, and a compression spring on the pinengaging the brace arm frictionally to hold it in adjusted positions.

12. In combination with a curb service tray adapted to be solidlysupported on a counter or the like in substantially horizontal positionand hooking means thereon extending downwardly from said tray inover-hanging relation with an edge of said counter when said tray is sosupported said hooking means being engageable in the window groove atthe lower edge of an automobile window to support the tray in asubstantially horizontal position on said edge of said Window, a bracemeans movable toward and from said hooking means in an extended positionbelow the tray, said brace means being foldable to provide a supportingportion longitudinally of the tray opposite the hooking means andsufficiently below the tray to engage the fiat surface of the counter.

FRED S. LACK.

